The Dance
by writeroneday
Summary: It explains itself. please review


As always, I don't own them, wish I did. I make no money from this. It is short, especially for me.

It was Fourth of July, Independence Day, the whole town had turned out. All the small ranchers and farmers had come into Four Corners to celebrate. There had been a horse pulling contest, a bronc busting contest, a pie eating contest, bobbing for apples, a horse shoe contest, a big BBQ and at sundown there were fireworks.

A wooden floor had been laid out down toward the end of town and lanterns had been hung from the trees and two by fours that had been placed in the ground held stringers of small lanterns. A band had been formed and a couple of square dances were called and then dance music was started by the accordion player and the fiddle and guitar followed his lead.

Mary Travis stood at the edge of the wooden floor and watched as the square dancers went into pairs and started to dance. She saw JD drag Casey out onto the floor as a slow tune started. She saw how reluctant Casey was, she could see Casey looking a little embarrassed. But saw how confident JD was. He took her left hand in his, gently placed his hand at her waist and speaking to her, keeping her eyes on him, they were suddenly dancing. She saw the surprised look on Casey's face, the sparkle of light that came into her eyes as they glided around the floor.

Buck was dancing with his square dance partner, a farmer's daughter, who's father and four big strapping brothers were keeping a close on the couple.

Mary looked around and was surprised to see Vin leading Nettie out onto the floor and was even more surprised when the tune changed immediately into a waltz, and Vin bowed to Nettie, took her in his arms and moved her gracefully into the dance steps of the waltz. She saw Nettie smiling up at Vin as if he were her own.

Nathan and Rain moved slowly out onto the floor, Nathan with that shy grin he got when he was around Rain.

"Evening, Mary."

She looked to her left and found Chris standing there. He was clean shaven, and clear eye'd. She hadn't seen him before the BBQ. She figured he wouldn't come to The Dance. "Evening, Chris." She looked back at the dancers.

"This has been good for the town…" Chris watched the dancers swirl around.

"Yes it has." She readjusted her shawl around her shoulders and smiled, her foot still tapping to the rhythm of the music.

He nodded over toward JD and Vin. "Didn't know either of them boys, could dance." His smile went wider as Josiah stepped out onto the dance floor with the widow Mrs. Torman, and even Ezra was dancing with Mrs. Torman sixteen year old daughter.

Chris stepped past her a full step, then turned back toward her. His right hand extended out to her, a gesture of an offer, a smile touched his lips going up into his eyes. His greenish blue eyes locking in on her pale green eyes. His smile got a little more serious. "Mary, may I have this dance?"

Mary smiled at him. It had been a long time since she had been asked to dance. She reached out and took the hand extended to her. She quickly lowered her eyes, batting back the tears that wanted to form. She looked back at Chris and saw his tight smile.

"I'm a little rusty." His smile going a little crooked. "I'll try and keep these big feet in line." Chris took her into his arms and moved off, stiffly at first and then as he caught the rhythm of the waltz he whisked her around the floor in one fluid, graceful movement.

The waltz rhythm continued, they went around the floor a couple times, but the tune changed as the accordion player moved into the 'Lovers Waltz' and his fellow musicians took a beat to follow.

Chris never missed a step, he swung Mary out and twirled her and re-position her up under his left arm, both of them facing the same direction. Four steps and he sent her out again and had her tucked up under his right arm and then four more and they were back face to face. He saw the smile on her face, the flush to her cheeks.

Chris Larabee glanced at the rest of his friends, knowing how they had all changed in the year and a half they had been here. It had seemed like a very short time ago they were each on their own path. All heading in different directions and yet all heading to the same place. Nathan was on the way to get hanged. Vin to sweep floors. JD with a ticket to the next town had jumped out of the stage coach, to "ride into adventure". Josiah came here to redeem himself, rebuilding a church. Buck to scope out the ladies in a town he'd never been too. Ezra, one step in front of the law and conning anyone he could. And he himself, Chris Larabee, a known gunmen, a man with a reputation that made him walk a fine line between life and death. Chris had chosen that day to be in a saloon in an almost dead town with bullets flying all around him. He had turned and quietly walked out of the saloon, while the rest of the patrons were flat on the floor or behind up-turned tables. He surveyed the scene playing out on the street before him

There, standing in the middle of the street was a beautiful flaxen haired woman with a double barreled shot gun pointing at the ramrod of the trail drive, trying to stop them from lynching Nathan. Chris had listened to Mary and Nathan explanations as they had both tried to explained to the ramrod and the rest of the drovers that their boss had been to far gone with the gang-green, it hadn't been Nathan's fault.

Chris had stood there and watched them over power and take the shot gun from Mary. They rode past her as she lay sprawled on the street and headed for the graveyard and one of the few trees that would support a hanging. He stood there unfeeling, not letting the emotions in. It wasn't his fight.

There was nothing left in him but the anger he felt for himself, for not being there for Sarah and Adam. He had survived on a thin thread that one day he might find a clue as to who had killed his wife and child. It was what had brought him here that day, one of the girls he'd gotten friendly with and had quietly asked her questions had said they had heard of a tall, rail thin, man who had said something to one of the other working girls about seeing something so terrible that he had run away and he had mentioned a house had been burned. That was why Chris was here on that faithful day. The day he had thought about "Isn't anybody going to doing something" as the flaxen haired woman had screamed before she had turned to follow the hanging procession. He had let the thought pass. He wasn't going to get involved. He wasn't going to get involved, until, as he started to turn around to go back into the saloon and finish his drink, he saw a man step out of the hardware store with a rifle. He was jacking shells into a Winchester 73. It took him a second to recognize him, he had been standing there with a broom in his hand a minute before, now he looked like a buffalo hunter, only Chris didn't think it was buffalo he was about to hunt. He saw a set of blue eyes look across the street at him, he knew the hunter had noticed him and he nodded toward the disappearing hanging brigade and saw the nod.

"_You going to intervene?" _Chris had asked without speaking.

"_Yeah, just can't let them hang 'em, got to do something!." _Vin had answered back, with the same silent voice.

"_Well let's go then. Today's as good a day to die as any."_ Chris, clamped the cheroot he'd been smoking back into his mouth had stepped off that porch not knowing how his life and the lives of six other men were about to change.

"Chris…?"

Mary's voice broke his train of thought. He looked down at her, the music was still playing, everyone was still dancing. He raised an eye brow, acknowledging her.

"You were a long way off." She saw his face break into a grin.

"Not that far…" He thought for a moment. "But it did seem like a long time ago…"

She smiled. "Well, I am glad you are here, I'm grateful that all seven of you are here."

He looked around the dance floor and smiled. "Me too…"


End file.
